Ares tenses, his jaw locking. “He touched you?”
I nod once. “He… he sliced me open. From navel to sternum. I didn’t even have time to scream."
Ares jerks back like the words physically strike him. “Lana…”
“It was bad. Really bad,” I say, voice wavering. “I was dying. And Florence made a decision.”
He looks at me sharply. “What decision?”
I hold his gaze for a few seconds. And I see it as he starts piecing it together. He knows what he can see with his eyes, what he can smell.
I am different.
I swallow. “You know what she’s been researching. What she’s been trying to create. Has she ever actually explained the regenerative ability of it all to you?”
His breath catches. His grip on my thigh tightens. Panic sharpens his eyes. “Florence tested it on you?”
“She saved me, Ares. I was bleeding out. She was literally trying to put my intestines back in my body. I… I was gutted. No hospital could have put me back together. There was no surgery that could have saved me,” I say, and I hate the words. I don’t want to describe this for Ares. It will haunt him forever. But I can’t have him doubting Florence’s decision. I can’t let him resent her for saving me. I need to make him understand the reality. “Nothing but Florence’s miracle could have saved me.”
His hand shakes. It takes a lot of turmoil to make a Born vampire’s hands shake. I watch him try to hold it in, but he can’t. His fingers rise, running both hands through his hair as he takes in a shaky breath. “Holy shit, Lana…”
“Listen to me,” I say as I shift. I lift a leg over his, coming to keel with my knees on either side of his hips. I settle into his lap, forcing his gaze to my eyes. “I’m okay. I feel okay. Better than okay. It worked. The regeneration, the blood—my body rebuilt itself in real time. Ares, I don’t age anymore, I don’t scar. And I can’t be killed, not easily. I’m stronger. I’m fast. And sunlight doesn’t even bother me.”
Ares turns, looking at me like I’m something he doesn’t deserve. “Lana, I… I can’t believe I let this happen to you.”
“No,” I say, grabbing his face in both hands. “You didn’tletanything happen. None of this is on you. I was supposed to be here, Ares. In this world. With you.”
He closes his eyes, leans into my touch. But I feel the guilt simmering under his skin.
“If I hadn’t lost control—if I hadn’t killed Giovanni’s son?—”
“Stop.” I say it firmly, cutting through the spiral. “You didn’t choose that. It wasn’t you. And if you keep trying to take the blame, if you let guilt win, it’ll hurt me. It will eat atus.”
His eyes fly open, and the look on his face—like I just hit him with truth so deep, it carved its way into his bones.
I know I’m fighting dirty right now. I know Ares will do anything for me, even ignore his own pain. But I can’t stand that look in his eyes. I can’t bear to see him in such agony. I don’t know any other way to save him from himself right now other than to weaponize myself against him.
“Can you let it go?” I ask softly. “Can you move forward with me? Because I need you. I need you, not the man buried in shame. I’ve missed you so damn much.”
The ache in his eyes makes my breath hitch.
He lifts a hand, cupping my cheek like I might slip away.
“I can,” he says. “For you—I will.”
I don’t wait another second.
I crash into him, our mouths finding each other with a desperation that’s been building for what feels like years, even if it’s only been eight days. His arms wrap around me, tight and possessive, pulling me flush against him like he’ll never let go again.
Ares climbs from the couch, pulling me up with him. I’m ripping his shirt off without thought. He unbuttons my pants and shoves them down my hips. In a matter of seconds, he’s completely naked, and I’m down to nothing but my underwear.
Our lips have hardly broken apart, though. His skin is hot when Ares’ hands come to my hips, and without any effort, he grips them, lifting me clean off the ground.
His lips are savage as he takes possession of mine. My body is a raging inferno of heat as I wrap my legs tightly around his waist. My nipples harden, and I press them into his bare chest.
Roughly, I feel him finger my panties. He tugs them to the side, and the heat of his head is instantly there.
A devious smile comes to my lips as I look down at him. His eyes are burning with the rage of desire.
